Specific Requirements for Chapter 3: Methodology
As discussed in detail below, Chapter 3: Methodology must contain the following.
- Identification and Explanation of Independent Variables
- Identification and Explanation of Dependent Variables
- Identification and Explanation of at Least 5 Extraneous Variables
- Description of Experimental Subjects
- Description of Control Subjects
- Methodology
- Materials and Equipment
Independent Variable
The independent variable is the condition or thing you change in your experiment in order to see what happens.
Given the Alternative Hypothesis (H 1)
If it is true that being timed on a test has an affect on your heart rate, then when two groups of 10 middle school students are given the same memory test, but with one group being told they have as much time as needed to complete the test and the other group being told they have 5 minutes to complete the test, the group that has a time limit will score significantly different from the group that does not have a time limit.
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For this alternative hypothesis, whether or not the group has a time limit placed on completing the test is the independent variable. It is the variable you are changing. One groups has unlimited time to complete the test, and one group has 5 minutes to complete the test.
Dependent Variable
The dependent variable is the thing you are going to measure or score or time in order to determine if there is a difference between your experimental group and your control group.
Given the Alternative Hypothesis (H 1)
If it is true that being timed on a test has an affect on your heart rate, then when two groups of 10 middle school students are given the same memory test, but with one group being told they have as much time as needed to complete the test and the other group being told they have 5 minutes to complete the test, the group that has a time limit will score significantly different from the group that does not have a time limit.
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For this alternative hypothesis, the score on the test is the dependent variable. You will be comparing the scores of the group that had five minutes to complete the test to the group that had an unlimited amount of time to complete the test.
Extraneous Variables
The extraneous variables are things that could mess up your experiment if they are not controlled. In general, you want to keep everything the same for the experimental group and the control group except for that one thing your are going to change and manipulate (the independent variable). Most experiments need to have a lot of extraneous variables controlled.
Given the Alternative Hypothesis (H 1)
If it is true that being timed on a test has an affect on your heart rate, then when two groups of 10 middle school students are given the same memory test, but with one group being told they have as much time as needed to complete the test and the other group being told they have 5 minutes to complete the test, the group that has a time limit will score significantly different from the group that does not have a time limit.
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There are a number of extraneous variables that need to be considered when performing an experiment to test the hypothesis above.
- The Testing Room Temperature
- The Testing and Learning Materials
- Noise and Interruptions During the Testing
- The Time of Day
- The Testing Room Lighting
- The Testing Room Setup
Teacher-Led Activity
Experimental Subjects
Here you will describe the people that will participate in your experimental group. You do not use names. Participants are kept anonymous. You do need to describe...
- The number of subjects in the experimental group
- Male, female, or combination
- Average age or grade
- General description of where participants are from
Experimental Subjects
The experimental subjects were 10 randomly selected male and female students from a local middle school. The students ranged in age from 15 to 16. |
Control Subjects
Here you will describe the people that will participate in your control group. You do not use names. Participants are kept anonymous. You do need to describe...
- The number of subjects in the control group
- Male, female, or combination
- Average age or grade
- General description of where participants are from
Control Subjects
The control subjects were 10 randomly selected male and female students from a local middle school. The students ranged in age from 15 to 16. |
Methodology
Perhaps the most important and difficult part of your research will be developing the methodology for your experiment. The methodology provides a step by step explanation of how you will prepare for, setup, and implement your experiment. Your methodology needs to be explicit enough that, having read your methodology section, anyone could perform your experiment in the same exact way as you performed the experiment. All asects of the experiment must be explained.
Teacher-Led Activity
Materials and Equipment
Here you will provide a precise and complete list of the materials required to perform your experiment.
An Incomplete Example of Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Methodology
Independent Variables
The independent variable for this experiment is whether or not the subjects listened to music while memorizing the list of nonsense syllables. Dependent Variables The dependent variable for this experiment was the number of nonsense syllables the subjects are able to recall and write down on an answer sheet. Extraneous Variables There were several extraneous variables that we needed to consider and control. Volume of the music, outside noise, and type of music could all have an impact on this experiment........ Experimental Subjects The experimental subjects were 54 randomly... Control Subjects The control subjects were 54... Methodology Step 1: The randomly selected subjects were placed into two groups of 54. The experimental group was.......... Step 2: Step 3: Materials and Equipment
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